Epäpuhtauksien poistaminen sinkkisulfaattiliuoksista käyttäen selektiivisiä ioninvaihtimia

Diplomityössä on tutkittu kuparin, koboltin, nikkelin ja kadmiumin poistamista sinkkisulfaattiliuoksista käyttäen uusia silikarunkoisia kelatoivia erotusmateriaaleja. Vertailukohteena on käytetty perinteisiä kaupallisia polymeerirunkoisia kelatoivia ioninvaihtohartseja. Laboratoriokokeissa selvitettiin erotusmateriaalien adsorptio- ja ioninvaihto-ominaisuuksia tasapaino- ja kolonnikokeilla. Silikarunkoisten erotusmateriaalien kemiallista kestävyyttä tutkittiin olosuhteissa, jotka vastaavat prosessisyklin eri vaiheita. Metallien adsorptiomekanismien selvittämiseksi erotusmateriaaleille tehtiin happo-emäs ja sulfaattititraukset. Tasapainokokeet osoittivat, että silikarunkoisilla erotusmateriaaleilla saatiin kupari erotettua väkevistä sinkkisulfaattiliuoksista polymeerirunkoisia kelatoivia ioninvaihtohartseja paremmin. Tutkituilla erotusmateriaaleilla ja ioninvaihtohartseilla ei havaittu merkittävää selektiivisyyttä koboltille, nikkelille tai kadmiumille sinkin ja kuparin läsnä ollessa. Kolonnikokeilla yritettiin löytää paras esikäsittely-lataus-eluointisykli kuparin talteenottoon väkevistä sinkkisulfaattiliuoksista silikarunkoisilla erotusmateriaaleilla. Kolonnikokeissa esikäsittely tehtiin laimealla NaOH:lla, jonka jälkeen petiin syötettiin hapanta sinkkisulfaattiliuosta. Eluointi onnistui hyvin laimealla rikkihapolla. Kolonnikokeiden tulokset osoittivat, että kupari on mahdollista erottaa väkevistä sinkkisulfaattiliuoksista. Silikarunkoisten erotusmateriaalien kemiallista kestävyyttä tutkittaessa havaittiin materiaalien kestävän hyvin happoja ja 60 oC:en lämpötilaa. Sitä vastoin alkaalisissa olosuhteissa tapahtui silikan liukenemista. Tutkituilla erotusmateriaaleilla havaittiin kuparin sitoutumista sekä ioninvaihtomekanismin avulla että sitoutuneena neutraalina suolana.

Integration of Economics into Life Cycle Assessment in the Finnish Pulp and Paper Industry

Taloudellisen laskennan yhdistäminen elinkaariarviointiin (LCA) on alkanut kiinnostaa eri teollisuuden aloja maailmanlaajuisesti viime aikoina. Useat LCA-tietokoneohjelmat sisältävät kustannuslaskentaominaisuuksia ja yksittäiset projektit ovat yhdistäneet ympäristö- ja talouslaskentamenetelmiä. Tässä projektissa tutkitaan näiden yhdistelmien soveltuvuutta suomalaiselle sellu- ja paperiteollisuudelle, sekä kustannuslaskentaominaisuuden lisäämistä KCL:n LCA-ohjelmaan, KCL-ECO 3.0:aan. Kaikki tutkimuksen aikana löytyneet menetelmät, jotka yhdistävät LCA:n ja taloudellista laskentaa, on esitelty tässä työssä. Monet näistä käyttävät elinkaarikustannusarviointia (LCCA). Periaatteessa elinkaari määritellään eri tavalla LCCA:ssa ja LCA:ssa, mikä luo haasteita näiden menetelmien yhdistämiselle. Sopiva elinkaari tulee määritellä laskennan tavoitteiden mukaisesti. Työssä esitellään suositusmenetelmä, joka lähtee suomalaisen sellu- ja paperiteollisuuden erikoispiirteistä. Perusvaatimuksena on yhteensopivuus tavanomaisesti paperin LCA:ssa käytetyn elinkaaren kanssa. Menetelmän yhdistäminen KCL-ECO 3.0:aan on käsitelty yksityiskohtaisesti.

Tunnusluku- ja tuottohistoria-pohjaisten sijoitusstrategioiden toimivuus ja sykliriippuvuus suomalaisilla osakemarkkinoilla

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli analysoida tunnuslukuihin ja tuottohistoriaan perustuvien sijoitusstrategioiden toimivuutta ja sykliriippuvuutta HEX:iin listatuista yrityksistä koostuvalla aineistolla. Tutkitut sijoitusstrategiat perustuivat arvostuskertoimien, betan ja menneiden tuottojen käyttöön analysointivälineinä käytettyjen kvintiiliportfolioiden muodostamiskriteereinä. Kontribuutiota tutkimukseen pyrittiin luomaan tarkastelemalla ensimmäistä kertaa suhdannesyklin vaikutuksia edellä mainittujen sijoitusstrategioiden toimivuuteen tutkimusaineistolla, joka kattoi useita suhdannesyklejä (pisimmillään vuodet 1991 - 2002). Suhdannesyklien käänteiden määrittämiseen käytettiin ostopäälliköiden indeksiä (PMI-indeksi), jonka on todettu toimivan hyvin esimerkiksi pörssikurssien kehitystä ennakoivana indikaattorina. Tulokset osoittivat P/E-, P/B-, EV/EBIT-, EV/EBITDA-, beta- ja momentumanomalioiden esiintyneen myös suomalaisilla osakemarkkinoilla vuosina 1991 – 2002. Tutkimuksessa saatiin näyttöä myös tuottohistoriaan pohjautuvien momentum-strategian ja winner-loser –strategian toimivuudesta. Näistä etenkin jälkimmäinen oli voimakkaasti sykliriippuvaista. Näiden tulosten mukaan suomalaiset osakemarkkinat eivät olisi käytetyillä tarkasteluperiodilla olleet edes heikosti tehokkaat, ts. osakemarkkinoiden keskimääräinen tuottotaso olisi ollut mahdollista ylittää pelkkään kurssihistoriaan perustuvien sijoitusstrategioiden avulla.

Melamiinipinnoituslinjan puristusparametrien määrittäminen

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli määrittää melamiinipinnoituslinjalla käytettäville eri pinnoituskalvoille linjan käytön kannalta optimaaliset puristusparametrit. Tutkimuksessa vertailtiin erityisesti puristuslämpötilan ja -ajan vaikutusta pinnoitettujen levyjen pinnoitteiden kypsymiseen. Pinnoitteiden kypsyminen mitattiin pääasiassa kypsyystestien avulla. Tulosten pohjalta laadittiin 6 eri pinnoitusreseptiä, joihin pinnoitteet jaoteltiin. Yksi pinnoitusresepti pitää sisällään tiedot käytettävistä puristusparametreista, eli puristuspaineesta, -lämpötilasta ja -ajasta. Testien tuloksia analysoitaessa havaittiin eri pinnoitteiden käyttäytyvän eri tavoin. Osa pinnoitteista kesti korkeampia lämpötiloja, osa taas vaati pidemmän puristusajan sopivan kypsyysasteen saavuttamiseksi. Sopiviin puristusaikoihin havaittiin vaikuttavan erityisesti käytetyn hartsin reaktiivisuus ja kalvoissa käytetyn pigmenttiväriaineen tummuus.

Life cycle costs in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems with drive

Energy consumption and energy efficiency have become an issue. Energy consumption is rising all over the world and because of that, and the climate change, energy is becoming more and more expensive. Buildings are major consumers of energy, and inside the buildings the major consumers are heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. They usually run at constant speed without efficient control. In most cases HVAC equipment is also oversized. Traditionally heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems have been sized to meet conditions that rarely occur. The theory part in this thesis represents the basics of life cycle costs and calculations for the whole life cycle of a system. It also represents HVAC systems, equipment, systems controls and ways to save energy in these systems. The empirical part of this thesis represents life cycle cost calculations for HVAC systems. With these calculations it is possible to compute costs for the whole life cycle for the wanted variables. Life cycle costs make it possible to compare which variable causes most of the costs from the whole life point of view. Life cycle costs were studied through two real life cases which were focused on two different kinds of HVAC systems. In both of these cases the renovations were already made, so that the comparison between the old and the new, now existing system would be easier. The study indicates that energy can be saved in HVAC systems by using variable speed drive as a control method.

Partner Criteria and Life Cycle Impacts: Case UPM

The study examines partner selection criteria and the life cycle impacts on them. The target is to define the relevant criteria that should be applied in case of a partnership. In this context partnership means strategic supplier relationship. It is also examined how these criteria change on the different stages of the product and business life cycle. The empirical part is a description of developing Criteria selection tool in the case company. The study is conducted as a qualitative research using constructive and action research methodologies. The Criteria selection tool is a MS Excel workbook, giving the relevant set of supplier criteria depending on the business case. The most essential criteria, the tool will suggest for partner suppliers, are related to strategic fit, development potential and collaborative aspects. On the early stages of the life cycles the criteria related to research and development and growth potential are significant. On the late stages of the life cycles cost reduction potential becomes very important.

Tests of International Asset Pricing Models in Scandinavian Stock Markets

This thesis examines whether global, local and exchange risks are priced in Scandinavian countries’ equity markets by using conditional international asset pricing models. The employed international asset pricing models are the world capital asset pricing model, the international asset pricing model augmented with the currency risk, and the partially segmented model augmented with the currency risk. Moreover, this research traces estimated equity risk premiums for the Scandinavian countries. The empirical part of the study is performed using generalized method of moments approach. Monthly observations from February 1994 to June 2007 are used. Investors’ conditional expectations are modeled using several instrumental variables. In order to keep system parsimonious the prices of risk are assumed to be constant whereas expected returns and conditional covariances vary over time. The empirical findings of this thesis suggest that the prices of global and local market risk are priced in the Scandinavian countries. This indicates that the Scandinavian countries are mildly segmented from the global markets. Furthermore, the results show that the exchange risk is priced in the Danish and Swedish stock markets when the partially segmented model is augmented with the currency risk factor.

Production Cycle Optimization: Defining the Market Potential for a New Planning Tool

An optimization tool has been developed to help companies to optimize their production cycles and thus improve their overall supply chain management processes. The application combines the functionality that traditional APS (Advanced Planning System) and ARP (Automatic Replenishment Program) systems provide into one optimization run. A qualitative study was organized to investigate opportunities to expand the product’s market base. Twelve personal interviews were conducted and the results were collected in industry specific production planning analyses. Five process industries were analyzed to identify the product’s suitability to each industry sector and the most important product development areas. Based on the research the paper and the plastic film industries remain the most potential industry sectors at this point. To be successful in other industry sectors some product enhancements would be required, including capabilities to optimize multiple sequential and parallel production cycles, handle sequencing of complex finishing operations and to include master planning capabilities to support overall supply chain optimization. In product sales and marketing processes the key to success is to find and reach the people who are involved directly with the problems that the optimization tool can help to solve.

Mobile system for pump working point estimation

In the current economy situation companies try to reduce their expenses. One of the solutions is to improve the energy efficiency of the processes. It is known that the energy consumption of pumping applications range from 20 up to 50% of the energy usage in the certain industrial plants operations. Some studies have shown that 30% to 50% of energy consumed by pump systems could be saved by changing the pump or the flow control method. The aim of this thesis is to create a mobile measurement system that can calculate a working point position of a pump drive. This information can be used to determine the efficiency of the pump drive operation and to develop a solution to bring pump’s efficiency to a maximum possible value. This can allow a great reduction in the pump drive’s life cycle cost. In the first part of the thesis, a brief introduction in the details of pump drive operation is given. Methods that can be used in the project are presented. Later, the review of available platforms for the project implementation is given. In the second part of the thesis, components of the project are presented. Detailed description for each created component is given. Finally, results of laboratory tests are presented. Acquired results are compared and analyzed. In addition, the operation of created system is analyzed and suggestions for the future development are given.

Role of oxidation-reduction cycle of iron in direct leaching of zinc concentrate

Direct leaching is an alternative to conventional roast-leach-electrowin (RLE) zinc production method. The basic reaction of direct leach method is the oxidation of sphalerite concentrate in acidic liquid by ferric iron. The reaction mechanism and kinetics, mass transfer and current modifications of zinc concentrate direct leaching process are considered. Particular attention is paid to the oxidation-reduction cycle of iron and its role in direct leaching of zinc concentrate, since it can be one of the limiting factors of the leaching process under certain conditions. The oxidation-reduction cycle of iron was experimentally studied with goal of gaining new knowledge for developing the direct leaching of zinc concentrate. In order to obtain this aim, ferrous iron oxidation experiments were carried out. Affect of such parameters as temperature, pressure, sulfuric acid concentration, ferrous iron and copper concentrations was studied. Based on the experimental results, mathematical model of the ferrous iron oxidation rate was developed. According to results obtained during the study, the reaction rate orders for ferrous iron concentration, oxygen concentration and copper concentration are 0.777, 0.652 and 0.0951 respectively. Values predicted by model were in good concordance with the experimental results. The reliability of estimated parameters was evaluated by MCMC analysis which showed good parameters reliability.

A study of combustion phenomena in circulating fluidized beds by developing and applying experimental and modelling methods for laboratory-scale reactors

The results shown in this thesis are based on selected publications of the 2000s decade. The work was carried out in several national and EC funded public research projects and in close cooperation with industrial partners. The main objective of the thesis was to study and quantify the most important phenomena of circulating fluidized bed combustors by developing and applying proper experimental and modelling methods using laboratory scale equipments. An understanding of the phenomena plays an essential role in the development of combustion and emission performance, and the availability and controls of CFB boilers. Experimental procedures to study fuel combustion behaviour under CFB conditions are presented in the thesis. Steady state and dynamic measurements under well controlled conditions were carried out to produce the data needed for the development of high efficiency, utility scale CFB technology. The importance of combustion control and furnace dynamics is emphasized when CFB boilers are scaled up with a once through steam cycle. Qualitative information on fuel combustion characteristics was obtained directly by comparing flue gas oxygen responses during the impulse change experiments with fuel feed. A one-dimensional, time dependent model was developed to analyse the measurement data Emission formation was studied combined with fuel combustion behaviour. Correlations were developed for NO, N2O, CO and char loading, as a function of temperature and oxygen concentration in the bed area. An online method to characterize char loading under CFB conditions was developed and validated with the pilot scale CFB tests. Finally, a new method to control air and fuel feeds in CFB combustion was introduced. The method is based on models and an analysis of the fluctuation of the flue gas oxygen concentration. The effect of high oxygen concentrations on fuel combustion behaviour was also studied to evaluate the potential of CFB boilers to apply oxygenfiring technology to CCS. In future studies, it will be necessary to go through the whole scale up chain from laboratory phenomena devices through pilot scale test rigs to large scale, commercial boilers in order to validate the applicability and scalability of the, results. This thesis shows the chain between the laboratory scale phenomena test rig (bench scale) and the CFB process test rig (pilot). CFB technology has been scaled up successfully from an industrial scale to a utility scale during the last decade. The work shown in the thesis, for its part, has supported the development by producing new detailed information on combustion under CFB conditions.

The Process of Greening Cycle as Method of Operative Environmental

The structural change of society from product-based business to service- and further to need-based business has caused the fact that work for environmental issues has spread from conventional factories and environmentally harmful production to concern services and offices as well. Almost every company has an office, so a relatively small environmental burden caused by an individual office grows remarkable already at the state level and globally even more. Motivation to work for environmental issues in an individual office could be challenging even without the fact that wasted environmental impacts bound also wasted costs. Besides cost savings, a concretely greener image of a company has its value in the B2Cas well as in the B2B-field. Consumers and clients are more and more conscious of environmental issues and demand concrete actions instead of speeches, good thoughts and meaningless certifications. Internal work for environmental issues at a strategy level is not sufficient, so operational environmental management is needed for changing old practices. This research is about the effects of operative environmental management on the greening process of an office-based business. The research is outlined to concern the operative work in the office including field sales. Target was to concretely lower the environmental impacts of Lyreco Finland and to find cost savings directly by changing the operative practices in the office and also indirectly by affecting the level of environmental knowledge of the personnel. During the greening process, the aim was also to create concrete arguments for marketing as well. The circle of greening process, which was especially created for this diploma work, was used as a method. The circle divides a year to themes and sections separated by factors of environmental impacts. Separation is based on Brett Wills’ thoughts of seven green wastes (Wills, Brett. The Green Intensions. 2009) and follows it uneasily. The circle aimed at ensuring evolutionary growth of knowledge instead of being revolutionary in the changing process. Committing personnel to the process from its start by asking ideas from them and giving them clear directions was an important part of the research of operative management. Because of working from distance, communication with personnel was operated by frequent training days and weekly greening notes via emails and intranet. Also availability for communication was an important task because of the telecommuting. Research results of this work show that operative environmental management in an officebased business today is mostly management of change. When the strategic environmental friendliness is taken into a concrete level, the most important individual factor is motivating the operating personnel. Research shows that evolutionary change is found being an efficient way to make a change. Also understanding one´s own impact on the environmental burden and on the whole greening process clearly motivates the personnel. Results show that in the operative realization of the greening process, clear directions of new working practices, being as concrete as possible, and committing personnel to follow them make the process more effective. The operative environmental management and the cycle of the greening process decrease the environmental burden and save costs. The concrete results could be used as believable arguments in marketing and therefore exploited in communication with interest groups. Commitment of the management is also one of the key factors of success in the greening process. In this research, changes in the business field by a company trade took the focus of the management away from the greening process and made the process more inefficient by decreasing the amount of training days. The circle of greening process will be used as a tool in the future, as well, and therefore it will help observe environmental impacts of a company and increase sustainable development. Commitment of management to the evolutionary environmental work helps the operating personnel lower environmental impacts, decrease costs and build a concretely greener image.

Laitosmittaukset turbiinilaitoksen suorituskyvyn seurantaan ydinvoimalaitoksen vuosihuoltojen yhteydessä

Työssä kehitettiin höyryvoimalaitosprosessin tilan seurantaan laitosmittausrutiini, jolla tarkastellaan erityisesti turbiinilaitoksen suorituskykyä ennen ja jälkeen vuosihuoltojen. Laitosmittaukset on kehitetty Teollisuuden Voima Oyj:n Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitosyksikköjen OL1 ja OL2 tarpeisiin. Mittauksilla saadaan tietoa vuosihuollon kokonaisvaikutuksista prosessiin eli muuttuiko mikään vuosihuollon aikana ja mitkä syyt johtivat muutokseen. Lisäksi säännöllisillä mittauksilla tavoitellaan pitkän aikavälin referenssitietoa prosessin tilasta. Esimerkkimittaukset tehtiin kevään 2008 vuosihuolloissa, R108 ja R208. Työssä on esitetty mittausten suorittaminen, tulosten laskenta ja tarkastelu sekä raportointi. Luotu mittausrutiini pohjautuu höyryturbiinien ja lämmönsiirtimien vastaanottokokeita käsitteleviin standardeihin sekä laitosten viimeisimpiin prosessimuutosten yhteydessä toteutettuihin suorituskykymittauksiin. Laitosmittauksista tehtiin vastaanottokokeita kevyemmät ja yksinkertaisemmat mittaustapahtumat, joilla saadaan kuitenkin riittävän luotettavaa tietoa. Tunnuslukuja, joita ei käytettävissä olevien mittatietojen avulla saatu suoraan selville tai laskettua massa- ja energiataseilla, määritettiin stationaarisen tilan mallinnusohjelmalla TEMPO:lla. Esimerkkimittaukset sujuivat hyvin ja saadut tulokset antoivat kaivattua lisätietoa vuosihuollon vaikutuksesta prosessiin. Generaattorin bruttoteho aleni OL1:llä ja pysyi ennallaan OL2:lla. OL1:n tehon aleneminen selittyi syöttöveden virtausmäärän vähenemisellä, johon vaikutti virtausmittalaitteen lähettimen vaihto. OL2:lla ei havaittu turbiiniprosessissa muutoksia, mutta lauhduttimien suorituskyky parani. Lauhduttimien suorituskyvyn paraneminen ilmeni asteisuuksien pienentymisenä, johon vaikuttivat puhdistaminen ja ilmavuotojen väheneminen.

Customer relationship management through life cycle analysis, case professional service firm in B2B market

The objective of this master’s thesis was to study how customer relationships should be assessed and categorized in order to support customer relationship management (CRM) in the context of business-to-business (B2B) and professional services. This sophisticated and complex market is utilizing possibilities of CRM only rarely and even then the focus is often on technology. The theoretical part considered first CRM from the value chain point of view and then discussed the cyclical nature of relationships. The case study focused on B2B professional service firm. The data was collected from company databases and included the sample of 90 customers. The research was conducted in three phases first studying the age, then the service type of relationships and finally executing the cluster analysis. The data was analysed by statistical analysis program SAS Enterprise Guide. The results indicate that there are great differences between developments of customer relationships. While some relationships are dynamically growing and changing, most of customers are remaining constant. This implies expectations and requirements of customers are similarly divergent and relationships should be managed accordingly.